I tried Guildford's new e-bike hire scheme to see if it can help students and commuters zip about town

A new e-bike sharing scheme has recently launched in Surrey's largest town and I got the chance to try out one of the 200 Beryl E-Bikes now available for hire.

Beryl is a nationwide bike sharing company which has schemes across London, Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Bournemouth and many more. Beryl has most recently set up their newest scheme in Guildford, which comprises is 200 Beryl E-Bikes and 40 bike parking bays across the town.

The scheme involves allowing people to hire pedal bikes, E-bikes and E-scooters using their location and the Beryl mobile phone app. The app will charge you on a plan which varies by location and type of pass or tariff. These payments plans are; pay as you ride plans; minute bundles where you pay for a specific amount of time; and day passes where you pay for a day of usage on all bikes in the area.

READ MORE: Council to buy 6 new homes in Epsom and Ewell to ease £2.34m temporary accommodation bill

READ MORE: 'I'm a dog trainer – I hate working with yappy breed that is booming in popularity'

Beryl has provided Guildford with 200 of their high-quality E-bikes, ready to be hired. You can locate your nearest e-bike using the Beryl mobile application, these will generally be found in one of 40 Beryl parking bays across Guildford which can also be found on their mobile application as well as on their website. The large majority of these Beryl bays are situated in the Guildford town centre area.

My experience

I decided I would hire a Beryl E-bike and give one a spin to see what all the fuss is about. And, I must say, if you are an experienced cyclist, this is a completely viable mode of transport around Guildford, that is, if you live in walking distance from a Beryl parking bay.

According to the Beryl mobile application which I downloaded and set up before I left my house, my nearest Beryl bay is on New Cross Road, Stoughton, when I arrived I found around a dozen E-bikes waiting to be hired. Using the Beryl mobile application, I scanned the QR code on the bike's frame and within a minute the app let me know that my E-bike was ready for a ride.

As soon as I started pedalling, I felt the electric motor kick in, speeding me up by a considerable amount. The level by which the electric motor enhanced my speed was impressive; but I felt that if I was a less experienced cyclist, this speed may be a bit daunting to ride with.

I had a lot of fun riding around on the E-bike, I felt as if I was reaching high speeds with minimal pedalling which made it nearly effortless to reach my destination. I rode from the Beryl bay on New Cross Road, all the way to the bay opposite Odeon and Bedford Road.

I had planned my route to ensure there was a parking bay near my destination, once I reached the parking bay, I opened the app again and selected 'End Route', I then ensured that the e-bike was locked as advised, within a minute, everything was sorted and I could leave the bike for its next user.

For further information on how to hire a Beryl E-bike in Guildford visit the Beryl website, which can be found here.

E-Bike Hire Payment Plans

According to the Beryl website, the payment options for the use of Guildford's e-bikes are as follows:

Pay as you ride, which includes a £1 fee to unlock the E-bike, and a further 16p fee for every minute of riding. Beryl suggests that this payment plan is best for people who only intend to hire the e-bikes occasionally.

The next payment plan is known as minute bundles. This plan is where you pay up-front to hire the E-bikes for a certain amount of time. Minute bundles can be bought in 50 minutes bundles, which costs £8, with 100 minutes costing £16 and so on. Beryl suggests this plan is best for someone who plans on hiring an e-bike for multiple rides.

The final payment plan which Beryl offers for Guildford is a day pass, which is priced at £16. Beryl suggests this plan is best for full days of usage of the E-bikes as the pass is valid for 24 hours.

Where can I go on a Beryl Bike?

It is important to plan your journey in advance, so that you can park your bike in a Beryl parking bay near your destination. According to the Beryl website, if you park your e-bike inside Guildford's Beryl E-bike operation zone, but not in a Beryl parking bay, you will be charged a £10 convenience fee. If you park outside of the Guildford's operating zone, you will be charged a £25 fee, and, if the bike is not returned to the operating zone within 24 hours, an additional £80 fee will be charged.

The operation zone for Beryl's E-bikes in Guildford roughly covers an area which spans New Cross Road, in the north, Millmead car park, in the south, the end of Southway Road in the east, and the west-most point of Stoke Park on London Road.

What is the Beryl E-Bike?

These E-bikes are different to a regular pedal bike, and should be treated as such, Beryl's E-bikes can reach up to 15mph, and you should make allowances for this speed when riding.

Beryl's E-bikes include; a comfy saddle which can be adjusted for heights of 4 foot 11 inches, all the way to 6 foot 5 inches; front and back brake lights, with the front light having Beryl's Laserlight projection technology to increase visibility; an electric motor which assists you while you pedal; and a front basket which can hold up to 10kg of weight.

University of Surrey Student Discount

The University of Surrey and Beryl have teamed up to offer all students an exclusive discount, with 25% off minute bundles and riding passes for the whole of the 2024/25 academic year. All you have to do is sign up on the Beryl app and complete an online form to instantly claim and use the discount.

Get more news from SurreyLive straight to your inbox for free here.